Kali, The Terrible

Kali is said to have emanated from the brow of Durga, during one of the battles between the divine and anti-divine forces. The image of Kali may be hideous but it just proves that what may be outwardly ugly, can be loving and sustaining inwardly.

The painter renders the goddess brilliantly here; her self assured, utterly relaxed form in contrast to the convulsive, straggling form of Shiva's body. The image of the goddess as destroyer is quite graphic - necklace of human skulls, a girdle of severed heads, holding one such head in her hand with the blood dripping in the bowl held in the other one. She has numerous weapons in her multiple hands, belonging to various gods. She wears a crown out of which her unruly hair escapes, like water after breaking the dam. Around her head is a yellow halo, defining her divine status. The dead body that she stands so nonchalantly on in this painting is the shava or literary 'corpse' which signifies many things - her triumph in general, the limits of time and in some cases even Shiva bereft of his power when his shakti has emanated itself and left him.

The colours used in this batik are basic and rather dull. The artist depends solely on the iconic image of the popular goddess for attraction.

This description by Renu Rana.